Jane's Got a Gun
by Clockwork-Ceni
Summary: Everyone has secret feelings. Even Jane. But she would never act on them- at least, not without a little help.


"Hello, Maid."

Jane shivered at the strange voice. She, being the detective she was, noted the way it echoed about. She also decided it clearly belonged to a woman. Before she could lose courage, she addressed the voice. "Who's there?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted to run far away from the spooky voice. She shuffled her feet, unsure of what to do. Her uncertainty dispersed as a light chuckle split through the air.

"I am the Condesce, Jane. Would you like to see?" Jane swallowed and nodded. She looked around for this 'Condesce'. This world was boring. It was long and flat, like the battlefield. The sky was grey and cloudy. Shifting her feet on the rocky ground, Jane gnawed at her lip. Where were the other kids? They were supposed to meet her here. Then, without much of a warning, a woman appeared. Her skin was a dark grey. She stood probably twice as tall as Jane and looked even larger due to a wild mass of black hair. Two tall orange horns rose from her head. Glittering yellow eyes smiled at the human.

"What- what _are _you?" Jane stammered, backing away.

The bizarre woman sighed. "True, I am not from your little planet you call Earth. That is no reason to fear me, dear. I have chosen you, Jane. I can help you."

Jane tipped her head in confusion. This alien was speaking in riddles, just like every other thing in this stupid game. Wait! "Are you here to help us with Sburb?" she asked enthusiastically.

The Condesce smiled, revealing a mouthful of sharp, shark-like teeth. She shook her head. "Oh no! No, I have no interest in your trivial game. I am speaking of something more personal, more important, to you." As she spoke, she moved closer to the girl.

"I'm not sure I understand you," Jane quietly murmured. She had to crane her neck to look the Condesce in the eyes.

"Do you not feel flushed for that boy- the Page?"

"J-Jake?" Jane's voice squeaked. "Well, I-I thought… maybe… but he and Dirk-"

The Condesce sighed dramatically, "That boy! What a rotten Prince!"

"Hey! Dirk is my friend!"

"Are you quite sure?" the woman inquired, voice soft and kind. Jane blinked; she was taken aback by the abundance of concern in the practically-a-stranger's voice.

"Of course, I know who my friends are," she huffed. "Dirk, Jake and Roxy are my best friends."

"Hm… Well, you do know yourself best. However, I believe you are being duped."

"Huh?" What did Condesce mean by that?

"The Prince is much closer to the Page and Rouge than you, yet you are far superior to him, Maid. You are being forced to limit yourself. You are the leader, after all! You should be the favorite. You should want for nothing! So why do you bother with these fools, when you are the finest out of all of them!"

Jane pursed her lips and didn't say anything for a moment. "Oh," she said blankly. "Well… that is certainly something." She looked down at her shoes. They were scuffed from all the running and jumping she had been doing in this game. She had been doing a whole lot of that.

"Yes, yes it is. So, Jane, my question is: what do you plan to do about it?" Jane looked sharply at the Condesce.

"Nothing!" she retaliated, straightening her back. She glared at her opponent. "I shall do nothing about it, because you are wrong, Condense! Roxy and Jake don't like Dirk more than me! They respect me, and I respect them!"

"Of course dear," the Condense looked surprised, as if Jane was completely out of bounds. It only made the girl steam with fury. "But, you must consider, what if I am not wrong? What if your friends value Dirk before yourself? What if the so-called Prince of Heart steals _their _hearts?"

Jane didn't respond. She shouldn't be talking about these things! Wrenching guilt pulled at her. What a terrible friend she was! Her mind whirled. Looking down, she noticed the hem of her skirt was frayed. She had multiple cuts on her legs and a nasty looking bruise forming. Hugging herself, Jane wrapped her arms around her torso. She wished someone (maybe her dad, maybe Roxy, anyone really) were there to give her a real hug. "Mrs. Condense?" she queried. Her throat felt tight, almost as if she were holding back tears. That was silly, because Jane was far from crying her eyes out.

"Yes dear?" the Condense asked. She stepped back and cupped her cheek with her hand. Her eyes peered fondly at the young lady.

Jane took a shaky breath. "Maybe," fists clenched her shirt. _Just say it you idiot! What's the worst that could happen? _"Maybe you could… that is… um… help me?"

"Yes, yes, I can, Maid," the Condesce smiled a Cheshire cat's smile.

"I… I don't want to, you know, DATE Jake or anything! And I don't want to do anything that might make my friends upset. I just… I…"

"Of course, Jane. I understand perfectly," the woman shook her head, successfully clearing her face of hair. She held out a hand and Jane could see her own reflection in perfectly-shaped pink nails. "Take my hand. I shall help you." Exhaling, Jane gingerly reached out. "That's right, Maid. Let me help you. All you have to do is take my hand."

If Jane was confused by the Condesce's crooning, she didn't show it. In fact, her face was blank- devoid of any emotion. Her movements were slow and a bit jerky, like a puppet on a string. She stared into those golden eyes as she clasped the woman's hand. The second their skin met, the Condesce's grip tightened. A wicked, triumphant smile broke across her lips. Jane's blue eyes widened and panic thrashed through her. In a last ditch effort to undo her action, she tried to wrestle her hand back from the alien. To her dismay, her hand was caught in a vice-like grip. Jane could feel herself sinking. The world began to drift away into scattered sensations as she slipped into a blissful darkness.

…

"Sup Jane?" a boy greeted the girl. She stood alone on the stony ground. Her shoulders were tensed and her fists were clenched at her sides. Dirk walked up to her. His footsteps rapped against the hard land. At the sound, an odd smile flickered onto Jane's pale face. Her eyes were closed lightly behind her frames.

"Dirk," she began. She drew out the name, making it sound like it had six or seven 'ir's in it. The boy in question stopped mid step. A harsh wind combed through their hair.

"Yeah, Crocker? What's up?" Dirk spoke hesitantly.

Jane opened her eyes, causing her friend to inhale sharply. Her crystalline blue eyes emitted a pink glow and her pupils were inhuman. Suddenly her smile seemed sinister. "Prepare yourself, Prince." She extended one hand and a 2X3 Pronged trident appeared. It was very clear that it wasn't just for show; Jane knew how to use the thing.

"What are you doing, Jane!" Dirk's eyes widened from behind his glasses.

"I'm only doing what should have been done _long _ago," Jane, too quick for Dirk's eyes to track, closed the distance between them. With one end of the trident by his face, he had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out. Jane studied him with hungry eyes. She tapped one of the prongs gently along his jaw bone. Moving the tip downward, she chuckled as if experiencing a joke. "How _ironic,_" she paused the weapon's course when it reached his chest. "Should the Prince of Heart lose his own heart? Don't you think, dear?"

"I-I- why, Jane?" Dirk reached for his katana. Maybe, just maybe, if he could get her lethal trident away he could-

"Stop that," Jane growled, knocking his sword away. "In fact, I think you should just stop everything." She sneered callously at the boy. He raised his hands in defense.

"Wait Ja-"

Without hesitation, Jane pulled back her weapon and pierced Dirk in the heart. Blood spurted from the three prongs. Dirk's body went stiff. Jane let it fall to the cold ground. It lay there, red pooling out and staining his t-shirt. The trident stood straight up from his torso. For a moment, the world was silent as Jane gazed at the corpse of her former friend. Then a shrill shriek erupted. Jane turned her head and rested her glowing eyes upon the two newcomers.

"Hello, Roxy, Jake."

Roxy, the one who had screamed, stared in horror at Dirk. Her mouth gaped open, but no sentence was formed. Tears had begun to flow down her cheeks. Jake too, couldn't believe his eyes. "Jane," he said hoarsely. "What did you do?"

Jane shifted her body so she was facing her friends. "I told Dirk, I did what should have been done before. I had to do it! You can understand, right?" Her eyes flashed.

"N-no! Jane, I don't understand! How can you say that! You killed Dirk!" Jake shouted. "You killed him!"

"Yes, I did kill the Prince," Jane smiled. She took a flash step towards the two kids. Standing in front of Jake, she tenderly ran a hand along his cheek. Dirk's blood left a trail along his face.

Jake cringed and swatted her hand away. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why Jane? What possessed you to murder your friend? Are you crazy? Why did you kill him?" by the end, Jake's wail had risen to soprano.

For a split second, Jane faltered. The disturbing glow flickered, revealing a spellbound, confused girl. But it returned all too soon. "Jake, Jake, Jake. I did it for _you_. For _us_. For all of us. I only had our best interests at heart." Jane turned away and stalked back to Dirk. She glared at the body in disgust. "I killed him for you, Jake. I killed him for you too, Roxy. And I killed him for me."

Jake took a shaky breath. It had become undoubtable that Jane had gone completely insane. He glanced worriedly at Roxy. The blonde was weeping silent tears. Her mouth formed unidentifiable words. "Roxy," Jake whispered. "Don't worry. It'll be alright." Secretly, he wished that this was all a nightmare. Dirk's blood on his face told him otherwise.

"Yes, yes. It will be alright, Roxy. Don't worry," Jane let out a laugh. Jake jolted at the sound. He knew Jane. He knew Jane's laugh. And that wasn't Jane's laugh. That wasn't Jane's voice. So-

"You're not Jane," he accused. The girl chuckled.

"I'll admit, you're smarter than the other boy, Page," Not-Jane said. "You figured it out. Jane isn't quite in control of her actions right now. But I can assure you, this is happening on her wishes." Any comfort Jake had received in knowing that this monster wasn't his friend evaporated. But maybe there was some hope left in this world…

The murderess (Not Jane. She wasn't Jane.) hummed thoughtfully. "Tell me, Page, would you like to see your Prince again? Feel his touch? Talk to him like everything is fine? Do you want that?"

Jake looked the girl in the eyes. He shuddered at the otherworldly shape her pupils had taken. "Please," he said daringly. Not-Jane frowned. She glowered at the boy. "Please," he repeated. He opened his mouth to beg again, but no words came out. He choked and looked down. Scarlet liquid trickled down from neck. His eyes slid shut as he crumpled to the grey earth. Jane stood next to him, Dirk's sword in hand. She scowled at the blood-stained blade and tossed it down. Studying the corpses on the ground, she felt a sense of revulsion.

"Fools," she spat. Their hands were close to each other, as if the dead ached for the other's touch. She ripped her gaze from the fallen heroes to check Roxy.

The girl in question was rambling off nonsense. Her words were fluid and echoed with many other voices. She had gone unnoticed while Jake had attempted to persuade Jane to stop the needless rampage. Black wisps had begun to rise from her now grayed skin. Her eyes shimmered with white tears. She radiated power. Roxy Lalonde had gone Grimdark in her grief.

Roxy raised a hand. "You killed them," her voice was backed by thousands of horrorterrors, ages upon ages of black magic. "You killed them and now you will pay by my hand." A wave of energy hit Jane full on, causing her to stumble back. Her weapon still embedded in Dirk's body, Jane would be forced to use her hands to battle the last hero. But she was still confident in her own abilities. She growled and kicked Roxy in the chest. The blonde didn't even winced, merely sent out another surge of concentrated power. Jane gritted her teeth. She prepared to counterattack with a bold strike of her own. Fists clenched, she slammed her hand into Roxy's face. The Rouge cupped the wound. Her exposed fury made the black tendrils leap higher, the white mist around her eyes blaze brighter-

THUMP.

A newcomer entered the fray. His footsteps pounded into the ground. The girls' fight froze as they turned to survey him. (Had either one been herself, their eyes would have widened and their breath would have caught. Fear would have trapped them, yet they would have fought bravely. As it was, Jane's eyes narrowed to slits. Roxy, still trapped in her grimdark state of mind, barely acknowledged his presence.)

Lord English staggered across the plane. His eyes glowed with bloodlust. Before Jane could react, he charged. His attack was swift and deadly. It would have sliced neatly through both players, killing them instantly, yet painfully. But Roxy anticipated the immediate death-strike. "JANE!" she cried, her grimdark waning in her disquiet. She launched herself at the smaller girl, shielding the girl from the blow. The girls faced each other, close enough to feel the staccato panting of their breathing. Jane could see the frightened glaze in Roxy's eyes. Before Jane could register what was going on, pain flashed in Roxy's pupils as the attack sliced into her torso.

They collapsed into a heap. The Condense decided then that it would be a good plan to abscond. Jane's eyes returned to their original blue before they fluttered shut.

Death hung in the air. Four bodies sprawled out across the stone. A coppery scent wafted in the air. The sky was too shocked at the massacre to weep rain. Satisfied with the carnage, Lord English turned and stumbled away.

…

Jane's cheek pressed into the cold stone ground. She shivered as she regained consciousness. Her body was sore, and she was sure she was bruising all over. What happened? She groaned and opened her eyes. The silver light nearly blinded her before they adjusted to the sudden brightness. She sat up and looked around. Horror shot through her. She couldn't believe it.

Blood and corpses. Her friends. Dead. No- worse.

Murdered.

Roxy's body lay closest to her. Her pink eyes were wide open. They were lifeless, devoid of her usual spark. The blood had spurt from a deep cut on her back. It had long since stopped flowing. Her arms stretched towards Jane. A yellow bruise had formed on her face. Jane sobbed. What monster had killed her lovable friend?

She tore her eyes from the dead girl to identify the other two. Jake's shirt was coated in blood from his slit throat. His eyes were closed, and if Jane didn't know any better, she could have tricked herself into thinking that he was just asleep. A red smear of blood ran across his jaw. She wanted to get up and walk over to him, but she couldn't.

And Dirk. She saw Dirk. A trident rose from his body like a grave-marker. It cast odd shadows on his face. His glasses were slightly askew and his face was contorted in pain. His hand and Jake's touched. His other hand rested limply around the wound.

Jane couldn't help it. She stopped fighting the tears and let the grief was over her. She screwed her face up as water rolled freely down her face. Her friends were dead. No amount of Life could bring them back. She opened her eyes to look at them through hazy tears. The colors blurred. She wiped her face off with the back of her hand, clearing the distortion. She froze. Her hands. Jane slowly raised her hands, quivering all over. Red palms. Sticky red palms. Suddenly, the memories rushed back. She remembered raising the heavy trident, driving it through Dirk's chest. She could feel the ghost of laughter as she mocked Jake, then the specter of the hatred at the blood that ran down his neck. Dueling a grimdark Roxy.

_I killed them._

Voices ricocheted in her head. "_What are you doing, Jane!"_

_"What the hell is wrong with you?"_

_ "You killed them and now you will pay by my hand."_

_ "You're not Jane."_

_ "Wait Ja-"_

_ "Please." _

"_JANE!" _

Roxy's last cry echoed in her mind. Jake's plea, Dirk's dying gasp.

_This is what you wanted, _The Condensce sneered in her psyche.

"No!" Jane rasped. "I never wanted this! You killed them!"

_Are you sure about that? The blood is on your hands, after all._

Oh god. "…you're right."

The Condensce had done nothing. Jane was the murderer. Jane had slaughtered her friends. Jane had no one to blame but herself. No fingers to point. It was her own greed, her own darkest thoughts that had lead directly to their deaths. There was no point in denying it, all the guilt was hers.

Jane reached over to Roxy, fingers lightly trailing along the bruise. She let them drift to those rosy eyes and close them. There. Much better. Now she looked like she was sleeping too. Jane stood up, legs trembling. She stumbled over to the boys' body. The ground was sticky with blood spatters. Jane sighed and bent down to fix Dirk's glasses. _I'm sorry. You didn't deserve this. If I could bring you back- If I could fix this, I would in a heartbeat. _She turned and moved jerkily to Jake. She held her breath and cautiously grabbed the dead boy's pistol. She cringed at the cold metal object.

"_Be careful Jane!" Jake said, green eyes full of worry. "Didn't anyone tell you that you could shoot your eye out with one of these? Guns are no joking matter!"_

"_Aww! Jake, don't be such a worry wart! I'll be fine!" Jane gave her friend a goofy grin. She, however, relinquished the borrowed weapon to its rightful owner. "There, are you happy?"_

"_Quite," Jake stuffed the gun back into its holster. He shot the girl a quick smile. _

"_Y'know Jane," Roxy garbled, leaning towards the dark haired girl. "I happen to be skilt, er skilled, in the art of frieng, firding, _firing_, a gun thing too. I could teach you how to use one." _

"_Really, Roxy?" Jane looked exited at the prospect of hanging with her best friend more. "You could do that for me?"_

"_Yeah, and then you would both be blind," Dirk scoffed. _

"_Diiiiiiiirk!" Roxy whined. "C'mon! *hic* What could pissablee, possibly, go wrong?"_

"_Oh nothing, Lalonde. Now Jake, tell me, should I wear the red tux to their funeral?"_

"_I prefer the 'day-glow-orange' one, myself," Jake grinned. _

"_Alright it, stop it you two!" Jane huffed. Clearly the boys weren't going to let her play with firearms anytime soon. "I won't mess with guns anymore, alrighty?"_

"_Promise, Jane?" Dirk drawled, eyes hard behind his glasses. It was apparent that the boy was adamant about this. _

"_I promise."_

"Sorry, Dirk," Jane whispered. "I'm going to have to break that promise." She fiddled around with the gun; it clicked and waited for her next move. "I just, I don't know what else to do," she continued to talk to her dead friends. "I don't deserve friends like you and you didn't deserve to die. So… I'm going to do it," she brought the gun up to her head. "I'll miss you. I'm sorry." The gun went off; a trail of red flew through the air. Jane collapsed immediately, gun clattering on the ground. Now it was over. All the heroes were dead.

GAME OVER

TRY AGAIN?

…

**A/N: Wow. I finally finished it. So… how'd I do?**


End file.
